BBC Proms finale facing strike threat

Viewers tuning in to The Last Night Of The Proms could be greeted with "dark screens" if proposed strike action goes ahead, broadcasting union Bectu has warned.

The final Proms concert at London's Royal Albert Hall is scheduled for broadcast live on September 11, with the first half on BBC Two and the second half on BBC One. Radio 3 will also air full coverage of the event.

Bectu yesterday sent out ballot papers to 5,000 of its members at the corporation to gauge their support for strike action over the BBC's proposed cutbacks to its final salary pension scheme.

The National Union Of Journalists and Unite have conducted similar strike ballots of their members working at the BBC.

Should the members vote to take action then the final night of the Proms could be affected, along with BBC coverage of other live events, reports The Independent.

"People at the BBC very rarely go on strike and with many shows being pre-recorded all that is needed is a manager to press a button to transmit it," said Bectu assistant general secretary Luke Crawley.

"But it seems to me that this time there could be an impact and there may be dark screens. Anything live would be hard for the BBC to do because you can't pre-record a live event."

The BBC is running a 90-day consultation on the pension plans to September 30, including around 120 sessions for employees to air their grievances to senior management.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "We continue to believe that the proposals we are making will deliver a pension scheme that is sustainable, affordable and flexible for BBC staff and the licence fee payer.

"We know that staff have concerns about the proposed changes but we will continue to listen and try to address these during the 90-day consultation period."